32
by acaudill0068
Summary: Rachel's 18 and headed to a summer arts program in NYC hoping to get a scholarship to Julliard.  Puck happens to be a teacher there and things kind of spin-off from there.  Puckleberry with a side of Pezberry.  Completely AU.  Rated M.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Glee.

A/N: Before anyone reads this I just want to warn you that this is a little OOC for both Puck and Rachel. This was actually a short story – the main characters being Cori and Spencer – I had written for my Eng 101 professor last year but never finished. A friend of mine read over this and said I should make this into a Puckleberry fanfiction so I did. I just switched the names around so hopefully this isn't too off course for the glee characters. Seeing as this was originally a short story with different characters this is completely AU. I'm thinking this will probably be two parts, maybe three if the response is good.

I don't know much about Ballet so there are probably mistakes and I apologize ahead of time. A friend of mine is a dancer at Julliard so she was my go-to source. Not beta'd, all mistakes are mine.

I plan on bringing all of the Glee characters into this but this first part is mainly Puckleberry with a side of Pezberry – my favorite kind of berries – but there are mentions of Jesse, Matt, Quinn, Brittany, and Emma. As of right now I'm sure that Mercedes, Kurt, Mike, Sam, Finn, and Artie will be in the next part as for the others I'm not certain just yet.

* * *

Rachel stuffed the last of her things into the suitcase on her bed. The only things left in her room were some old clothes, some furniture, and a few pictures on her wall. She smiled walking over to take the picture of the old woman off the wall. It was her Nana. Nana had died a few months ago of Alzheimer's.

This was it. Rachel looked around her room one last time. She was finally moving out. She was 18 and headed to New York for a summer arts program. If she did well enough she would get the scholarship she needed for college in the fall. She was hoping to get into Juilliard.

Rachel pulled her suitcase down the hall to find her parents and brother eating breakfast at the kitchen table.

"I can't believe you're leaving today." Rachel's dad, Russell, hugged Rachel hard. "Where have all the years went?"

"Daddy." Rachel smiled pulling away. "You still have Jeremy." Jeremy didn't look up from his Nintendo DSi. He was Rachel's younger brother.

"I know." Russell looked like he was about to start crying.

Rachel ruffled Jeremy's hair before sitting in front of the plate her dad had made her.

"Are you going to miss me?" Rachel asked Jeremy.

"Mmm." Jeremy grunted still playing his DSi.

"What about you, Dad?" Rachel looked over at Roger.

"I think you know how I feel about this, Rachel." His voice was stern but he never looked up from the paper he was holding.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked, gripping her fork.

"I don't think you should go to that school." He replied simply.

"So you want me to stay here and work at the pizza shop the rest of my life?" Rachel ground her teeth together. "I'd rather spend my life doing something I love than grow up hating everyone like you!"

"You need to come back to reality and get a real job like everybody else." He retorted.

"Dancing is a real job, Dad. It's my life." Rachel shot back

"You know how I feel about this." He shook his head.

"After what happened to Whitney…" Rachel stopped quickly and her dad stormed out of the room.

"You know Roger means well." Russell tried to calm Rachel down.

"I should make sure all of my stuff is together. Jesse is going to be here in a little bit to pick me up."

"Jesse's taking you?" Russell asked. "I don't even get to drop you off at the airport?"

"Jesse's going to the program too so I figured it would be easier for his parents to drop us off together." Rachel stood up. "Besides, you know you never would have let me get on the plane if you took me."

Russell couldn't help it anymore. The tears spilled out as he hugged Rachel again.

"I'll miss you." Russell told her.

"I'll miss you too." Rachel smiled pulling away. "But it's not like I'm leaving forever. You can visit me and I'll be back home in the fall."

"Haven't you left yet?" Jeremy teased finally putting the game away.

"You'll miss me." Rachel leaned over and kissed his cheek. A horn sounded outside. "That's Jesse. Help me with these bags."

* * *

After the flight Jesse and Rachel finally pulled up in front of the school. The school was divided; boys in the left building and girls in the right. All the classes were in the middle building. It was the biggest and stood three stories high.

"I'll see you later." Rachel kissed Jesse's cheek and hurried off to the girl's dorm.

Rachel checked in with the front desk before getting a key to her dorm room. Room 214. In her room, Rachel found another girl had already called the left side of the room.

"Hi." Rachel smiled throwing her suitcase onto the bed.

"Hi." The girl replied not looking up. The girl had dark-olive skin and long black hair.

"I'm Rachel." Rachel introduced herself.

"Santana." The girl finally looked up at Rachel. "Is this your first year?"

"Yea." Rachel started unpacking her things. "Is it yours?"

"No." Santana walked over to Rachel. "I've been here for the last four summers."

"Oh." Rachel looked around.

"Did you get your schedule?" Santana asked.

"Yea." Rachel pulled it out of her back pocket and looked it over.

"Let me see." Santana looked at it. "We have all the same classes. Just stick with me. It can get pretty competitive around here, especially when so many people are going for the scholarship."

"Are you?"

"Naw, my parents have money so it wouldn't be right to take the scholarship from someone who really needs it."

"You sound like you know you'd get it."

"I would." Santana smiled. "I'm not egotistical, it's just the truth. I've won every competition for all the years I've been here."

"Dance?" Rachel asked.

"Singing." Santana grinned. "You look like you're here for ballet."

"How'd you know?"

"Your posture." Santana shrugged. "You should get some sleep though. Classes start early tomorrow."

"Is there a place for me to practice… like a studio or something?"

"Yea." Santana pointed out the window. "First floor. When you walk in go to the right and there will be this long hallway. At the end there will be some big double doors. That's the dance studio. It's usually empty after eight."

"Thanks. Where's the bathroom?"

"Over in the corner but if you want a shower they're all in the main building. This place hasn't been redone in years." Santana sighed. "You can pick some towels up at the main desk."

"Thanks." Rachel threw some stuff in a bag and headed across the lawn to the main building.

* * *

After a shower Rachel got dressed in a leotard and some tights. She tied her ballet shoes tight when she got to the studio. Santana had been right. It was empty. Rachel looked around smiling. Mirrors covered most of the walls. It was a huge stadium and actually had the stuff she needed to do ballet right.

Rachel walked over to one of the mirrors to warm up. After several minutes Rachel started some of the more basic moves, arabesque, plie, split. She was really trying to do 32 fouettes. She'd been practicing for months but she'd only been able to get up to 26 before messing up. She had promised herself that she would work hard and get the steps down. The fouettes were going to get her that scholarship.

Rachel took several deep breaths to level herself. She closed her eyes as she started the fouettes. She opened them again when she reached 29. _Four_ _more._ She thought to herself. Rachel looked up in the mirror. Damn. She had traveled. That two seconds of being distracted sucked Rachel in. Her foot slipped when it cramped and down she went.

"Damn it!" She screamed, groaning, and slamming her fists down on the stadium floor.

"You went too fast at the beginning." A voice said close to Rachel. She looked out but it was dark and whoever was there was in the shadows.

"Where are you?" Rachel stood up.

"Sorry." The voice stepped into the light where Rachel could see him.

"What'd you mean I went too fast?"

"You're trying too hard." The voice belonged to a man. He looked around Rachel's age if not a little older. He was dressed in a pair of blue jeans and plain loose grey shirt. "You started off too hard and didn't leave yourself enough energy to finish."

Rachel furrowed her brow. "And how would you know?"

"My sister made me help her practice for years when she got into ballet." He shrugged.

"Oh." Rachel studied him. "Did you need in here?" She asked wondering why he had been in here to begin with.

"No. I heard you in here and thought I'd see what you could do." He grinned. "You're definitely a lot more talented than some of the students that go here."

"Thanks." Rachel pushed the bangs back out of her eyes.

"Is this your first year?" He asked.

"Yea." She answered. "I'm Rachel."

"It's almost curfew." He noted looking at the clock.

"Right." Rachel sat down to take her shoes off.

"You have small feet." The man said looking at her.

"Nana said that's why I move so well." Rachel smiled. "She passed away in March."

"I'm sorry." He went to sit beside her.

"Why do people do that?"

"Do what?"

"Apologize when they didn't even know her." Rachel looked down at the floor. "It was better for her to pass. Half the time she didn't even know who she was and even on her good days she hated the way people treated her like she was a baby."

"Well I'm still sorry." The man smirked.

"Wow." She scoffed.

"What?"

"I'm spilling my guts to a complete stranger." Rachel shook her head. "I should go. It's almost curfew." She bent to grab her bag quickly. She was almost to the door when he called out to her.

"You forgot something." He said.

Rachel turned to get it but when she saw what was in his hand she froze. She had been in such a hurry she didn't notice her bra fall out. His arm was held out offering her the red lace bra.

_Just kill me now._ Rachel whispered in her head.

The man smirked walking over to her. She turned a blood red when she saw him look down at the bra.

"I'm sorry." Rachel shoved the bra in her bag and squeezed her eyes shut hoping he would disappear.

"Goodnight, Rachel." He chuckled walking past her and out of the double doors.

* * *

The next day Santana woke Rachel up early. Their first class was ballet.

"I thought you said you were a singer." Rachel said as they walked across the lawn.

"I am, but I like a challenge." Santana giggled as they walked into the classroom. "I think we're late." She whispered when everybody turned to look at them. "Come on." Santana led Rachel over to two empty seats in the back on the room.

"It's nice of you to join us." A familiar voice said.

Rachel looked up to see the man from last night on the center of the small stage on the other side of the room.

"Is that the teacher?" Rachel whispered over to Santana.

"Yep. That's Mr. Puckerman but he wants to be called Puck. He's cute isn't he? He's been teaching here since last year. I think he just turned 25."

"Can anybody tell me who the first person to do 32 fouettes was?" Puck's voice brought Rachel back to class. She looked around but nobody raised their hands. "Come on people." He begged. "Somebody has to know this answer or else I'm a horrible teacher. I see some people that were here last summer and I know we went over this." Rachel slowly raised her hand and Puck smiled, spotting her.

"Please stand up and introduce yourself to the class." Puck said and everybody turned to look at her.

Rachel stood and tried not to blush too badly. "My name is Rachel."

"And who was the first person to do 32 fouettes Rachel?" Puck asked.

"Pierina Legnani." Rachel said quietly.

"And what ballet was it?" Puck pried.

"Cinderella." A girl said from the middle of the classroom. She smiled at Puck as if she were expecting him to toss her a treat. Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Actually she did it in Aladdin first. A lot of people make that mistake." Rachel spoke up and the girl stood and whirled to face Rachel.

"Excuse me?" The girl asked.

"Legnani performed 32 fouettes in Aladdin in 1892 at the Alhambra."

"Mr. Puckerman?" The girl whined turning to him expecting him to back her up.

"I'm sorry Quinn but Rachel's right. Legnani wasn't in Cinderella until 1893." Puck shrugged. "Come down her Rachel and bring your shoes." He motioned Rachel down but she hesitated. "Come on." He repeated and she obliged. "Why is doing 32 fouettes consecutively so great?" He asked when she got to the stage beside him.

"It emphasizes a dancers strength, stamina, and technique. Most ballerinas can only do them on one side, usually the right. Even though she did it in Aladdin first Legnani was so famous after Cinderella because she did 32 during the grand pas. It was the most ever performed at that time and when she repeated it for an encore she did 28. She also played Odile in the 1895 version of Swan Lake and did 32 as well in that ballet. Legnani had great technique. She could do 32 fouettes without her supporting leg wandering out of a chalk outline of a ruble, a Russian coin. Because of her accomplishments now every ballerina has to do fouettes. In my opinion she was the greatest ballerina to ever appear on the Imperial stage."

"It sounds like you've done your homework." Puck smiled. "This is how you should come to class." He said to the rest of the class. "Tomorrow I want a two page essay about the history of ballet from everyone, except Rachel." The class groaned. "Before we get any further Rachel is going to demonstrate fouettes for us."

"I can't." Rachel said quietly.

"What?" Puck asked.

"I can't do 32 fouettes." She shook her head.

He turned to the class. "Can anybody here do 32 fouettes?" Several hands were raised. "Consecutively." Puck sighed and the hands went down. "Just do as many as you can." He said to Rachel. "While she's getting ready I want everybody to start on that essay."

Rachel groaned silently as she slipped her cardigan over her head and slid out of her yoga pants to reveal a bright blue leotard and grey tights. She kneeled on her knee to tie her ballet shoes tight.

"Ready?" Puck held his hand out to her.

"No." She grumbled taking his hand.

"Everybody pay attention." Puck said loudly, pulling Rachel up to her feet.

She walked to the center of the stage and took a deep breath standing as tall and straight as she could. Rachel began the fouettes trying to tune out all the faces staring at her. She reached 28 fouettes before she felt her leg cramp. Puck gripped her arm when she almost fell.

"How many was that?" Puck asked the class.

"Twenty-eight." Santana called out and Rachel smiled up at her.

"Very good." Puck added. "And at the end of the summer Rachel will do it again and see if she can get up to 32. You can have a seat now Rachel." Puck said but leaned over to whisper in her ear. "Don't forget anything this time." She turned a deep red as she pulled her cardigan back on and changed from her ballet shoes to her flip flops before taking her seat back by Santana.

"That was awesome." Santana smiled.

"Thanks." Rachel grinned, listening to Puck go on with the lesson.

* * *

"I thought I recognized you." Rachel sat down by Jesse at the table. He was eating lunch and Rachel was between classes.

"Hey, babe." He kissed her cheek. "This is Kevin and Carson; guys this is Rachel."

"Hi." Rachel smiled and looked around. They were in the outside cafeteria. It was a big area but Rachel spotted Puck easily. "I'll be right back." She sprinted across the grass to him. "Puck." She said and he turned to her.

"Rachel." He grinned. "You did great today."

"I wanted to thank you for that. It was horribly embarrassing but I think it helped. I am going to practice though so I can get those 32 down."

"That's good. I could help with the fouettes if you want."

"Can I ask how old you are?"

"Why?"

"You just look too young to be a teacher." Rachel smiled.

"I'm 25." Puck shrugged. "Are you with that Jesse kid?" He asked, looking over her head.

"Yea." Rachel turned to look at Jesse, who was staring coldly at Puck.

"I've had him in class before. He's a smartass."

"That's Jesse." Rachel smiled.

"Your boyfriend?"

"Yea." She looked down.

"You don't sound so excited."

"Don't get me wrong, I love Jesse but… well I don't know." She looked up at him. "I'm doing it again, aren't I?"

"Doing what?"

"Babbling."

"I think it's cute." Puck smirked.

"Jesse's waiting." Rachel started backing away from him and bumped into somebody. "Sorry." She said to the girl and turned back Puck. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"I hope so." He chuckled.

Rachel walked back over to where Jesse was and glanced back at Puck. He was still staring after her. She sat down next to Jesse and noticed he looked upset.

"You okay?" Rachel asked Jesse.

"Are you hanging out with Noah Puckerman?" Jesse asked.

"Noah?" She asked, liking the sound of his first name but quickly shook her head, realizing she hadn't answered Jesse's question. "He's my ballet teacher. He's going to help me with my fouettes." Rachel nodded. "Is that a problem?"

"Just be careful around him okay, Rachel." Jesse left Rachel at the table and his friends followed suit.

Rachel turned to look back at Puck. Jesse had always been a little controlling but he seemed like he really didn't like Puck. Puck was talking to another teacher and laughing about something.

* * *

"So now you know why I take ballet." Santana giggled when they were lying in bed that night. "I'm terrible at it but he's so cute I don't care if I look like a fool."

"I guess so." Rachel shrugged.

"You don't think he's cute?"

"He's cute yea, but he's our teacher."

"That just makes him that much sexier." Santana laughed sitting up. "I heard he got with one of his students last year. She was 18 so it was legal and everything but then she cheated on him and they broke up."

"He slept with one of the students?"

"It was more like they were together for eight months."

"Wow."

"Yep. I'm hoping he'll make that same mistake with me this year." Santana smiled. "But I saw the way you two looked at each other."

"What do you mean?" Rachel sat up.

Santana's smile grew. "You like him."

"N-no." Rachel stammered.

"It's okay. I don't mind. It's not like I called dibs or anything. He's cute and I know he thinks you're cute."

"How do you know?"

"Because you'd have to be blind not to see that you're hot." Santana shrugged.

Santana slid back down in her bed. Rachel stared up at the ceiling. She'd always been told she was pretty but Rachel didn't understand why. She was plain with a thin body and not much in her bra. She wore a size 34 A. Rachel closed her eyes and pictured her face. Her eyes were a little too far apart and her lips were too full. Her ears stuck out too much and her nose was huge and slightly crooked.

The morning came too soon for Rachel's liking. She trudged across the grass with Santana to ballet. Rachel sat down at the desk beside Santana and rested her head.

"Tired?" Puck walked past Rachel. She lifted her head slightly before putting it back down. She had practiced late last night and hadn't slept very well.

Puck walked up on stage with a cup of coffee in his hand and turned to the class. "I want the reports on my desk in five minutes. Pass them all the way down to the end of the rows." He waited a few minutes before going to gather them up.

Rachel tried to listen most of the class but Puck's voice kept going in and out like a radio with static. Her head snapped up when he said her name.

"Rachel and Quinn are going to come down and show the class how to do fouettes right. They will be on your finals and I want to see everyone know how to do them or you won't pass. And that means no scholarship."

Rachel groaned walking onto the stage with Quinn skipping ahead of her.

"First Rachel and Quinn are going to have a fun little competition." Puck smiled standing between the two girls and the rest of the class is going to vote to see who wins. Whoever wins is going to be the class leader."

"But I'm always the class leader." Quinn complained.

"You've always been the best but this year I think you might have a little competition with Rachel."

Quinn gave Rachel a cold look but Rachel was too tired to care. She silently slipped her pants and jacket off before tying her pink ballet shoes tight above her ankle.

After doing fouettes, plies, arabesques, and a few other steps Puck had Rachel and Quinn stand on either side of him again.

"This is how it's going to work. First you're going to vote for Quinn and then for Rachel. Your applause will determine the winner. Who votes for Quinn?" There was a loud round of applause. "And for Rachel?" An even louder round of applause.

"Puck!" Quinn whined when he clapped.

"I'm playing it fair." He shrugged wrapping an arm around Rachel's shoulders. "Rachel is going to be the class leader. Class dismissed. We'll work on fouettes tomorrow."

Rachel was changing her shoes when she looked up to see all the other students had already left. She looked over at Puck. He was gathering the papers up when he suddenly looked up and caught Rachel staring.

"You haven't left yet?" He asked.

"I don't have class until this afternoon so I thought I might practice my fouettes if that's okay with you."

"You'll have to go to the dance studio. There's a class about to come in here."

Rachel grabbed her shoes and headed towards the classroom door.

"I'll walk with you." Puck grabbed his bag and hurried after Rachel. "I need to talk to you about being class leader anyway."

"Okay." Rachel and Puck had reached the studio and she was starting to stretch.

"You've got a good body." He noted watching her carefully and she snorted. "I'm serious. You move pretty well." He added.

"Pretty well?" She asked looking at him.

"You're good but you aren't that good. Everybody can use practice." He smiled. "I'm not trying to offend you. I'm simply saying that you have room for improvement."

"How?"

"You're too stiff." Puck walked towards her and she stood up facing him. "I know everybody says that you need to be tense but you'll move better if you loosen up a bit." He reached up to push her shoulders back and stuck his finger under her chin to make her taller. Walking behind her, he studied her. His hands loosely gripped her waist and pulled up slightly, straightening her legs. "Stand like this and it'll make you look twice as good."

Rachel slumped back down to her normal position. "My posture is fine."

"Your posture _is_ fine; I'm showing you how to make it great."

She eyed him carefully pulling herself back into the position he had her in. "I guess." She mumbled into the mirror across from her and Puck laughed.

"Start with the fouettes." He told her and she obliged.

She got up to 27 before stopping. "I can't do it. I can't get up to 32."

"It takes practice Rachel. You won't get it right off the bat."

"This is so frustrating." Rachel fumed sitting down in the middle of the stadium to change back into her flip flops. "I'm never going to get that scholarship."

"Yes you will." Puck sat beside her.

"How do you know?" She pulled her knees to her chest and rested her chin on them.

"Because I see how great you are." He smiled. "And I see your passion when you dance. That's what matters."

"Maybe." Rachel sighed.

Rachel and Puck locked eyes. They were close, only a few inches separated them. His hand came up to push the hair from her face but his fingers lingered on her cheek. She felt her heart jump a beat when his warm fingers slid down her cheek to her chin. He pulled her face up so that they were level with one another.

Suddenly, the doors swung open and some younger girls walked in but were busy talking to each other that they didn't notice Puck and Rachel at first.

"Oh sorry." One girl said. "We didn't know someone was using the studio."

"It's okay." Rachel ripped away from Puck and grabbed her things. She couldn't get out of there fast enough.

"Rachel!" He called after her but when he got outside she was already running up to the entrance of the girls' dorm.

* * *

Rachel managed to avoid him for a while after that. He would ask her if she wanted to practice after class but she always made some excuse not to.

The summer was almost gone before they finally had to talk to one another. Most of the students had gone home for the weekend to visit family but Rachel stayed to practice. Her family was coming to visit the next weekend.

She was in the dance studio when Jesse walked in while she was during her fouettes.

"Hey." He said loudly and she slipped hard onto the floor.

"Ow." She groaned looked up at him. "What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I'm about to leave for my flight. Are you sure you don't want to go home?"

"I've got to practice and I don't have what I need at home to do that." She stood back up and looked at herself in the mirror.

"Come on Rachel. We haven't hung out in weeks." He complained.

"We hung out yesterday." She retorted.

"No. I sat here watching you practice."

Rachel sighed. "I'm sorry Jesse but until this is all over I'm going to be busy. We'll have plenty of time to hang out when we get to college."

"Why can't we hang out now?" He asked.

"This might be all fun and games to you Jesse but this is important to me. I have to get that scholarship or I don't get to go to college. My family isn't like yours Jesse! I can't have my daddy pay my way into college. I actually have to work for it like everybody else." Rachel was starting to yell.

"What is wrong with you?" He asked.

"What wrong with me?" Rachel yelled. "I am so tired of hearing you complain about everything. It's not all about you Jesse!"

"I'm out of here." He turned away.

"That's right, Jesse! Run away like you always do!" She screamed after him when he stormed through the double doors. Rachel screamed again in frustration.

"Is this a bad time?" Puck's voice came from the other side of the room. Rachel whirled around and found him.

"How long have you been here?" She asked.

"Long enough." He walked towards her. "I wasn't trying to eavesdrop. I was in here before he showed up."

Rachel eyed him carefully as he walked towards her. "Shouldn't you be visiting your family?"

"I get enough of them on holidays." He grinned. "Shouldn't you?"

"They're coming next week."

"That's cool." He was getting closer.

Rachel studied Puck. He looked different somehow and it took her a few minutes to see what it was. Instead of his usual dress shirt and pants he was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a polo.

"I'm getting better with the fouettes." She nodded getting the lotion out of her bag and sitting down on the floor. She started to rub the lotion on her bare feet. "These shoes are killing me. I'm not used to practicing this much." She admitted. "We didn't have a ballet studio at home."

"How'd you get so good?"

"My sister and I took a few lessons when we started out but they closed down the studio when I was 12. My aunt took ballet when she was younger. She helped me a lot but it was mostly watching tons of videos on YouTube." She smiled and Puck looked impressed. "Anytime I could get to see a ballet I'd go. My aunt and I used to watch ballet's all the time on TV. My dad doesn't understand why dance is so important to me."

"Have you ever tried to tell him?"

"I've tried but he never listens."

"So why is it so important?"

"There's lots of reasons. I'm good at it for one. It's really the only thing I'm good at."

"That's not true."

"I'm not smart." Rachel countered. "And I'm not good at painting or drawing or anything like that."

"You're funny and you _are_ smart, just in your own way." Puck told her. "You shouldn't sell yourself short. What else?"

"My sister." She looked down at her feet when Puck sat beside her.

"What about your sister?"

"This is her." Rachel opened the locket around her neck and showed him.

"She looks just like you."

"We're twins. She used to do ballet and she was great at it. She finally got me to do it with her and that's when I got hooked. We were on our way home one night after she won a competition. It was just me and her in the car. She was driving and Jesse sent me this text. I'll never forget how she laughed when I showed it to her. I shouldn't have done it. I should have waited until we got home but I showed her anyway." Rachel could feel the tears springing to life, just hoping to get out. "The worst part is that I don't even remember what the text said. I just remember showing her and she laughed. I remember the headlights first, and then I remember her eyes get big as she screamed. I remember the crash. It all happened so fast but I remember everything. She swerved and went over the guardrail into this lake. She'd still be here if it wasn't for me. If I hadn't shown her that text she'd be here with me right now. She'd be doing those 32 fouettes and she'd be getting the scholarship."

"You can't say that." Puck sounded sad.

"It's true." She sniffled. "And you wanna know what the sickest part was? I was so mad after the doctor told me that I broke my leg. Whitney had just lost her life and I was upset that I couldn't dance for five months. Can you believe that? I killed my sister and all I walked away with was this scar." Rachel pulled up her shirt to reveal a red scar that made a slash across her smooth stomach. "All I got was this damn scar!" The tears spilled down her face.

"Rachel." Puck said trying to soothe her.

"Don't." She pulled away from his touch. "I shouldn't be here." She got out of there quickly, rushing through the double doors before Puck even had a chance to catch up with her.

* * *

Rachel spent most of the next day in bed. She didn't even get up to get a shower until later that afternoon. She walked out of the shower stall and stood in front of the mirror. She was glad not many students were left on campus. That meant she got the showers to herself for now.

She looked over when the door opened to reveal Puck walking in. He had a bag thrown over his shoulder and froze when he saw Rachel at the sink.

"I can come back later." He started to back out of the room.

"It's okay." Her words stopped him. "Go ahead." The showers were shared by both the girls and the boys.

Puck sat his bag down outside one of the shower stalls and started to undress. Rachel tried not to look but it was hard to miss him in the mirror. She looked down at the sink but her eyes kept traveling up to his reflection. When he got down to his boxers he stepped inside the shower and Rachel heard him slip them off. He tossed them over the door and they fell onto the pile of his other clothes. She heard the water start and could hear it beat down on him.

Rachel looked at herself in the mirror. The towel was wrapped loosely around her and her hair hung limply on her shoulders. She had dark brown wavy hair that skimped down her back. Her eyes were a deep chocolate-y brown that made her look even more pale.

"Could you hand me a towel?" He asked and the water shut off. Rachel silently held a towel up over the stall door and he took it. "Thanks." When he came out of the stall she was still standing on the other side of the door in her towel. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"No." Rachel admitted stepping forward closing the space between them. She raised up on her tip toes and kissed his cheek, and then the other, and finally his lips. She pulled away and looked at him. Something in his eyes told her to kiss him again and she did but this time he kissed her back.

Rachel's stomach twisted and turned. She'd only felt like this once before; when she and Jesse had sex for the first time.

"Rachel." He whispered pulling away.

"It's okay." She whispered back.

"No it's not. I'm your teacher."

"Right now, we're just two people that want each other. You do want me right?" she asked.

"Yes. I mean no. It wouldn't be right. I'd be taking advantage of you and I'm not okay with that."

"It's not taking advantage if I want you to." She countered.

"I like you, Rachel, but only as a friend." Puck stepped around Rachel to gather his things. Those words stung her hard. She watched him leave quickly, not caring that he was still in his towel.

* * *

Rachel got up early the next day. She got dressed in a pair of stretchy shorts and a tank top before going out to the track circle students use to run. She had done several laps when someone else came out to the track. When she got closer to him she saw that it was Puck. Sighing, she held back a few feet but he had already seen her. She looked down pretending that she was listening to her iPod when she felt him slow down and fall into step beside her.

"Hey." He said loudly.

She glanced over at him and tried to speed up to get away from him but he was faster and

stopped in front of her.

"Hi." She said and tried to step around him but he stopped her.

"Did I do something wrong?" He asked. Rachel looked up at him and he looked genuinely confused.

"For starters, I basically threw myself at you last night and you rejected me." She put her hands on her hips.

"I didn't reject you." He told her.

"Then what would call leaving me in the showers to look like a complete idiot." She asked.

"You didn't look like a _complete_ idiot." He grinned. "Weren't we supposed to practice today?"

"I have to go." This time he let Rachel by and she started towards her dorm.

"Feisty." He said and she turned back to him.

"Excuse me?"

"Your shorts." He smirked and she twisted to read them. On the back of the shorts it read "feisty".

"I'll be at the studio in ten minutes." She told him and couldn't stop the grin that splayed across her lips.

* * *

Puck was already in the studio when Rachel showed up. She silently sat beside him on the floor.

"It's quiet with no one else here." She said.

"Yea."

"I'm sorry about last night. I guess I'm just confused and you were there…" Rachel shook her head. "Anyway, I'm sorry." Puck didn't say anything. "I've never told anybody that."

"What?"

"About my sister. After the accident I told them that she skid and went over the guardrail. I was afraid they'd blame me and that they'd hate me so I lied. I didn't tell them about the text. I was going to tell them but they were so sad I didn't want to hurt them anymore than I already had." She looked over at him and he was staring back at her. He was actually listening. Something no one had done in a while.

"When did it happen?" He asked.

"Last April. We were actually going to come here last summer; we were going to come here together but after she died I didn't feel right coming without her." She sighed fighting the tears. "I remember feeling like it should have been me. It should have been me driving. She'd still be here if I had."

"You can't really think that."

"I don't know. It's not as bad now but I was really messed up after the accident. I hated myself. I couldn't go in her room for months afterwards."

"But you're better now?" He asked and sounded like he actually cared.

She nodded. "I think so but I don't think I'll ever get over it." She felt him reach over and take her hand. "The only reason I came here this year was because my Nana left me some money in her will and the only way I could use it was for this program."

"That's nice." He grinned.

"Yea." She looked at their hands locked together. "I think you would have liked Whitney. I know she would have liked you. If she was here you never would have noticed me. She always outshined me but I never minded."

"I would have noticed you." He looked at her.

Rachel grinned. "She would have thought you were cute. She was always better at getting guy's attention."

"You got my attention." He leaned towards her.

She looked up and saw the look on his face. She recognized that look. It was the look every guy gave Whitney when they saw her. "I should go." She pulled her hand away and stood up.

"Rachel." He jumped up and grabbed her hand. "Don't go."

"I shouldn't be telling you all these things. I don't even know you."

"It's okay." He stepped closer to her. "I want to hear everything that you have to say." He was right in front of her. "I want to know everything about you."

"Rachel?" A woman's voice said from the doorway. Rachel whirled around to see her aunt standing there. "The woman at the front said she saw you come in here." Her aunt eyed Puck suspiciously.

"We…" Rachel didn't know how to explain.

"We were practicing." Puck stepped in. "I'm Puck, Rachel's mentor."

Her aunt finally smiled and walked towards them to shake Puck's hand. "I'm Emma. Rachel's a handful but I think you can already see that."

"She's not so bad." Puck smiled.

"Is Dad here?" Rachel asked.

Emma looked down. "It's just me kid."

"Oh." Rachel glanced at Puck. "They must be busy or something."

"But we'll have plenty of fun while I'm in town." Emma hugged Rachel. "We don't need them. They'd just slow us down."

"Thanks, Aunt Emma." Rachel smiled.

"I got you something." Emma held out a box to Rachel.

"You didn't have to." Rachel said but took the box anyway.

"I saw it and just had to get it." Emma grinned watching Rachel open the box. Inside was a ballet dress. It was a red leotard with an attached red and pink mesh skirt. "I thought you could wear this at the competition."

"Aunt Emma, it's perfect." Rachel held it up. "But you really didn't have to get it. I know how expensive this can be."

"I know but it's your birthday next week and you're about to go off to college. I'm going to miss you kid." Emma hugged Rachel again.

"Don't get all mushy on me." Rachel said. "Why don't you go on to my room? I'll be there in a few minutes. Here's the key. It's 214."

Rachel waited until Emma was out of the room before turning back to Puck.

"She seemed nice." He said awkwardly.

"I'll see you in class Monday." She told him walking towards the double doors.

"Rachel." He said.

"Bye, Puck." She turned to smile at him.

* * *

Emma had already left for home when Rachel and Santana made their way to class Monday morning.

"You must have gotten back late last night." Rachel made conversation.

"Yea." Santana smiled. "My parents don't live far from here so after I visited with them my boyfriend, Matt, took me out."

"That's nice." Rachel nodded.

"I have so missed you though." Santana told her. "The whole time I was gone I kept thinking about you being here all alone."

"I wasn't alone." Rachel shrugged. "My Aunt Emma came to visit and Puck helped me practice."

"Private lessons from Mr. Hottie? I am so jealous." Santana laughed leading Rachel over to their usual desks in the classroom.

"I'm going home this weekend." Rachel told her. "My parents couldn't come up this past weekend so I thought I'd surprise them. My flight leaves Friday right after I get done with my classes and I'll be getting home Sunday night."

"Have you talked to Jesse?" Santana asked.

"No." Rachel shook her head. "He was supposed to get back yesterday but he hasn't talked to me."

"Alright." Puck broke into their conversation from the stage. "I need girls on this side." He pointed the left side of the room. "The boys will be coming in a few seconds and we're going to pair up. There are fifteen girls and fifteen boys."

Soon after, the boys filed in and lined up against the wall on the other side of the room. Rachel noticed that Jesse happened to be one of the boys.

"These are the best male dancers from my other class." Puck walked up to stand between the two groups. "Pair up."

Santana grabbed Rachel's arm and led her over to the guys. "Bitch." Santana gasped when she saw Quinn all but pounce on Jesse.

"It's okay." Rachel shook her head. "It's just dancing."

"Rachel, right?" A guy walked up to Rachel and Santana.

"Yea." Rachel nodded.

"I've seen you dance before. You're really talented." He smiled at her.

"Thanks." Rachel blushed slightly.

"I'm Aiden. Partners?" He asked and Rachel nodded.

"Sure." She smiled back.

Santana giggled and walked off to find her own partner.

"I need some volunteers." Puck said after everyone was paired up.

"We will." Aiden piped up and Puck nodded motioning them down.

"Rachel and Aiden are going to show us some lifts." Puck told the class as Rachel and Aiden got ready.

Rachel hurried to tie her ballet shoes and did a few steps to warm up.

"Pay attention." Puck demanded as Rachel took several deep breaths.

She had never done a lift before and she prayed that Aiden would be there for her. She took one last deep breath before running towards Aiden. He bent down quickly grasping Rachel's waist and lifting her easily.

"Keep her up." Puck told Aiden.

Aiden's hand shifted on her and Rachel wondered what he was doing. His hands kept moving until they were gripping her inner thigh.

"Hey!" Rachel gasped and down she went.

She landed onto her right hip with a thud. She winced in pain and struggled to stand up.

"Sorry." Aiden smirked.

"You ass!" Rachel pushed him back and yelled. "You dropped me because you were too busy trying to cop a feel than worry if you were supporting me right."

"Aiden, leave now." Puck ordered. "You could have hurt Rachel."

"Whatever." Aiden walked off of the stage. He got a few high-fives from some of the guys as he walked out of the room.

"You okay?" Puck asked Rachel.

"I'm fine." She sighed knowing she was going to have a huge bruise on her hip tomorrow.

"Anyone else want to give it a try with Rachel?" Puck asked.

No one stepped forward and Puck shrugged out of his jacket. "I guess I'll have to show these boys how it's done." Everyone started clapping and Rachel smiled at Puck.

"Ready?" She asked.

He nodded. "Fish." To anyone else that probably sounded like just some weird, random word but Rachel knew what he meant.

Rachel raised herself to the arabesque position and Puck carefully picked her up. Rachel folded her bottom leg up and Puck swung her back so that her head almost swept the ground. She smiled when he carefully stood her back up on the ground.

"Everyone choose a spot and practice that." Puck told the class.

Rachel smiled again and sat down on the end of the stage to watch everyone trying the lift.

"That was fun." Puck sat down beside her.

"Yea." Rachel nodded. "You're really good, you know."

"All I did was pick you up. You did the hard part." He grinned.

"Hey, uh, Puck?" A few of the younger girls from the class walked up to him. "We were wondering if you could show us the 'leap of faith'?"

"I don't think so." Puck shook his head. "It's risky."

"Please?" The girls pleaded.

"Come on." Rachel hopped off of the stage. "It'll be fun."

"It's dangerous, Rachel." Puck told her.

She smiled. "I trust you, Noah."

Puck felt his throat dry when he heard those words come out of her mouth. He nodded giving in. "Fine. But it won't be my fault if I drop you on your head."

Rachel's smile grew as she walked up the aisle towards the door to give her plenty of room to start running. Everyone in the room grew quiet and watched intently as Rachel took several deep breaths. She nodded at Puck and gave herself a good running start before leaping into the air. She did the turn mid-air and felt Puck's hand firmly on her hips. She silently thanked God that he didn't drop her.

She heard him grunt as he supported her and then carefully lowered her back to the ground. Rachel started laughing and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him, when the room exploded in applause. Rachel pulled away and ran over to Santana.

"That was amazing." Santana smiled.

"I know." Rachel giggled from her adrenalin high. "That was so… awesome."

After class, Rachel waved goodbye to Puck and let Jesse lead her out to the cafeteria.

"How was your week?" He asked her.

"Good." She replied. "Emma came to visit and Puck helped me practice for the performance."

"Didn't I ask you to stop hanging out with him?" Jesse said coldly.

"He's my mentor." Rachel sighed. "He's just helping me out."

"Are you sure there's nothing else going on?" Jesse sounded weird.

Rachel thought back to the kiss in the shower and the way he had touched her before Emma showed up. "I'm sure." She lied and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. "How was your week?"

"I ran into Brittany." Jesse said and Rachel tensed.

"Really?" Rachel made herself ask.

"Yea." Jesse nodded. "She asked about you."

"Oh." Rachel sensed that Jesse was leaving something out. "Did you sleep with her?" She tried to keep from saying it but it just spilled out.

"What?" Jesse asked and sat down at a table. "Why would you ask that?"

"You slept with her last year when I went to visit Julliard with my Aunt. How do I know you didn't do it again when I wasn't there?" Rachel asked.

"I didn't sleep with Brittany." Jesse told her.

"You're lying." Rachel went pale. "You're lying." She repeated knowing it was true.

"No, I didn't." Jesse looked around. "You're attracting attention."

"I thought you liked the attention." Rachel's voice got louder and stepped away from him. "Admit it! You had sex with Brittany."

"Rachel." Jesse growled and stood up.

"Say it!" She screamed.

"Fine." Jesse shook his head. "You want me to tell you that I slept with Brittany. I slept with Brittany last week."

Rachel felt the anger rising and she clenched her hands into fists at her sides to keep from punching him.

"And it was good." Jesse added loudly. "You can't blame me for looking elsewhere, Rachel. Every time we've done it lately you've made me do all the work."

"What work?" Rachel yelled. "You only last for what… maybe two minutes. Did you really think I was getting off?" Rachel knew people could hear her but she didn't care. "It's not my fault you don't know how keep from exploding before the sex actually happens. It's not sex if you come before you've even got the condom on right, Jesse."

"Your sister never had any complaints." Jesse shot at her.

She stumbled back a step as if his words are physically hit her, although they probably would have hurt less if they actually had. "You're lying. She would never do that." Rachel shook her head angrily, already feeling the tears eat up her throat.

"It was the summer before I got with you. She came begging for me to get with you. She wanted you to be happy or some shit and said you had a huge crush on me. She asked me to start dating you and all I asked was for one thing in return." Jesse smirked. "Your sister really loved you, you know that? She was real good, Rachel, a lot better than you. If it wasn't for her we wouldn't be together."

Rachel back away from him and shook her head. "I hope you had fun with Brittany. Just remember, Jesse, I was her best friend for years. I know how she is and if I'm right, you might want to get yourself checked."

She turned on her heels and sprinted out of the cafeteria ignoring confused looks of Puck and Santana. Rachel ran until she reached the back of the campus. She leaned against a tree trying to catch her breath. She felt like passing out so she sunk down onto the ground. She felt the tears stream down her face and a sob racked through her body.

How could Jesse do something like this to her? She wasn't even that mad at the fact that he was cheated on her. She was mad about what he said about Whitney. She felt her breath coming in shorter pants and she closed her eyes trying to calm down. Her breathing finally returned back to normal and the crying had stopped. She looked back towards the school to see that it was getting late and most of the kids were going back to their dorms.

She bit her lip fighting back the tears that threatened to spring to life again. She knew she'd have to face everyone sometime but she didn't feel like it right now. Rachel remembered that Santana had another class until six so she snuck back to her dorm to grab her bag before hurrying to the studio. Luckily, it was empty.

Rachel slipped her pants and shirt off and tied her shoes tight on her ankles. When Rachel danced she tuned everything else out so she couldn't think about Whitney right now. She pulled out her iPod and turned it on starting to do some simple moves to the music. Most ballets had classical music but Rachel liked a challenge so she usually played more modern upbeat music. She got so caught up in the song that she actually starting to sing along to Skillet's _Awake and Alive. _She didn't realize she wasn't alone she saw Puck step onto the stage across from her. She froze where she was and looked at him.

"You're good." He said when she pulled the ear buds out of her ears.

"Thanks." She breathed heavily.

"I didn't know you could sing." He told her.

"I don't very often." She stepped away from him as he came closer.

"I told you Jesse was an ass." Puck smiled slightly.

Rachel nodded and sat down to take her pointe shoes off. She shoved them deep into her bag and looked up at Puck.

"Jesse was my first." Rachel told him. "He's the only guy I've been with actually."

"Do you love him?" Puck asked staring out towards the door.

"I thought I did." She replied. "I cared about him. I guess we grew apart. I got with Jesse my freshmen year and he's changed a lot. _I've_ changed a lot."

"Sometimes change is good." He said and she nodded in agreement.

"I just wish not everyone had heard what we said." Rachel sighed.

"So I'm guessing you've always had horrible sex?" Puck looked over at Rachel and she smiled.

"I wouldn't say horrible." She told him. "The first time was clumsy and awkward but it was kind of sweet. But after Whitney died, we fought all the time and that's when he slept with Brittany for the first time. It just wasn't the same between us anymore."

"You've never…?" He wasn't sure how to word the question.

"Have I ever came?" Rachel laughed. "No. At least not unless I did it for myself."

"And that never bothered you?" Puck asked.

"I never really thought about." She shrugged and stood up. "I'll see you tomorrow, Noah."

"Goodnight." He called to her as she neared the door.

* * *

"What happened the other day?" Santana asked Rachel as the girls walked across the lawn towards the tall building in front of them. "With Jesse, I mean."

"I dunno." Rachel shrugged honestly. "Jesse's never been all that smart but if he knows what's good for him he'll stay away from me."

"That bad, huh?" Santana frowned holding the front door open for Rachel.

"I don't think I have ever wanted to punch someone so much before." Rachel smiled as they neared the double doors that led to the classroom.

Rachel and Santana were talking at their desks when Puck sat a cup of coffee on Rachel's desk. "Thought you might like a pick-me-up." Puck smiled before walking down to start class.

"Adorable." Santana giggled. "He is so crushing on you."

"He's our teacher." Rachel couldn't help but smile and sipped on the coffee.

"He's our hot, delicious, totally available teacher." Santana sighed. "If I could get a guy like that, I think I'd die."

"Don't you have a boyfriend?" Rachel laughed.

"So?" Santana smiled. "In all seriousness, you really need to hit that."

"Santana?" Rachel gasped.

"What? You've got that whole hot for teacher look and you could really use some good sex. I'm telling you – it will really loosen you up for your performance in a few weeks."

Rachel looked down to see Puck perfecting a student's stance on the stage. She bit her bottom lip thinking about Puck. She wasn't going to lie, she had definitely thought about Puck on more than one occasion. She pushed the thoughts out of her head and started doodling on the paper in front of her as Puck went over the lesson.

* * *

"Rachel!" Jesse called running over to her and Santana when they walked out of the classroom.

Rachel groaned and quickened her pace across the lawn.

"Rachel." He said again and grabbed her wrist.

Rachel whirled around and starting smacking him with her bag. He stumbled back but she kept whacking him. "Don't. Ever. Touch. Me. Again." The bag smacked into him with each word.

"Hey." He tried to block the hits.

"I don't ever want to talk to you again. Don't even look at me." Rachel gave him one last whack for good measure before storming off with Santana not far behind her.

Rachel flung the dorm door open and pulled her suitcase out of the closet. She angrily started to fling all of her stuff into it.

"You okay?" Santana asked worried.

"Do I look okay?" Rachel snapped and the other girl shrank back. "I'm sorry… I'm just… I need to get out of here."

Santana watched Rachel rush out of the room. Rachel sprinted off towards the tree she had visited the other day. She slumped against it and sighed. She was calming down when she heard someone behind her. She peeked around the tree to see Puck walking a few yards from her. She wondered if he saw her but she guessed not since he hadn't said anything.

"Hey." She spoke up and he looked over at her.

"Hey." He nodded. "What are you doing out here?"

"Thinking." She pulled her knees up under her chin.

"It's a good place for thinking."

"You smoke?" She asked seeing the cigarette in his hand.

"No." He said. "It reminds me of my dad. He used to smoke all the time so when I want to remember him I pull out a cigarette."

"That's nice." Rachel nodded in approval.

Puck sat down beside her on the ground and smiled. "I'm glad you think so."

Rachel smiled back and looked out to watch some birds fly by. "Maybe my dad was right." She sighed. "I feel like I'm wasting my time here. I need to stop living in a fantasy."

"You're an amazing dancer, Rachel. If you stop dancing that wouldn't be right. You're better than most of the dancers I've seen come through here." Puck told her.

"You really think so?" Rachel asked seriously.

"Yea." He smiled over at her.

Rachel rested her chin on her knees and stared out looking at nothing in particular. "I'm going home tomorrow." She told him. "Jesse was supposed to go with me but obviously that's not happening. Now I have this extra ticket and I can't get my money back."

Puck smirked when an idea popped into his head. "I've always wanted to visit the mountains in the summer."

"What?" She looked over at him.

"You live in Tennessee, right? Near the Smokey Mountains?" He replied.

"Are you asking to go with me?" She asked.

"Is that a problem?" He grinned.

"I don't think my parents would enjoy me bringing home another guy when I left with Jesse."

"Maybe another time then." He shrugged. "See you around, Rachel." He started to walk off.

"Noah?" Rachel looked over at him and he froze. "Thank you."

"For what?" He asked, turning back to face her as she stood up, nervously standing in front of the tree.

"Just… thank you." She shrugged.

He was suddenly in her face, taking the three long strides to close the space between them, before mashing his lips against her. It was rough and passionate, but she didn't mind, kissing him back just as fiercely. She moaned into his mouth when his hand tangled in her hair, pulling hard, and his other hand gripped her hip, his fingers digging into the soft flesh under her pants. She pressed herself against him, clinging to his neck to pull him closer, his tongue thrusting into her mouth, fighting for dominance with her own. His hand pulled her hair tighter, and she found it odd that it turned her on so much. She felt him press her back against the tree, the bark rough of her back even through her shirt and she shifted uncomfortably.

"Noah." She panted, turning her head, and she was a little surprised when he actually let out a sound that sounded almost like a growl. "You're hurting me." She told him and he instantly back up, his hand slipping out of her hair but his other hand stayed firm on her hip.

"Sorry." He mumbled.

"I…" She looked down at his lips, wanting so much to kiss him again. "I should go. My flight leaves right after class gets done tomorrow and I'll barely have time to make it past security before the close the gate so I have to pack tonight." She told him, pushing him back further until they were no longer touching but her skin was still hot from where he had been touching her seconds ago.

Santana looked up from her bed when Rachel walked back into the room and Rachel knew that her friend saw her flushed face and red, swollen lips but neither girl said anything as Rachel finished packing her suitcase for this weekend. Rachel was thankful Santana let it go unspoken. Rachel flipped her light off after placing her suitcase at the foot of the bed and slipped under her blankets, her dreams filled with images of her sister and Noah Puckerman.

* * *

A/N: Just FYI, not sure when I'll have part II up, I haven't even started on it and I have a huge exam on Tuesday so my entire weekend is dedicated to studying for that. I have clinicals on Wednesday and check-offs on Thursday. I should be able to start on it next Friday so it might be two weeks before I update again. Sorry.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.

A/N: This has been a very busy week for me. Working 37.5 hours a week and being a full-time nursing student is not fun nor is it easy. I'll just have to power through it but I haven't really been able to write on this fic much and I know it is super short compared to the first part but I just wanted to let you guys know that I _am_ working on this and I haven't forgotten about it. Also, I'm a little behind on the reviews. I haven't checked my email in almost a week so if you reviewed after last Sunday night I probably haven't seen your review but I'll thank you anyway. Thanks for everyone that has reviewed, alerted, or fav'd.

I'm glad you guys like this so far. Someone mentioned in a review that this reminded them of a Hilary Duff movie. I mentioned in the first part that this was originally a short story for my English 101 class, and that short story was written for an assignment that my professor gave us. He had this odd obsession with Hilary Duff so it had to be based from a movie or show she was in or a song she sang. I don't particularly like Hilary Duff but I did really like this one movie she was in so that was how this short story/fic got written. If you've seen the movie I'm talking about then you'll see the similarities. It's been quite a while since I've seen the movie but I'm almost positive it was called 'Raise Your Voice'. It's one of her better movies so if you haven't seen it, you definitely should.

* * *

Rachel watched from the back of the ambulance. They had her on a stretcher and were trying to put her into the ambulance but she was screaming for her sister.

"Is she okay?" Rachel screamed. "Is Whitney okay? Where is she?" She looked over to see another stretcher being wheeled towards a different ambulance but this one was different. The shape of a body was covered by a white sheet. "No! She has to be okay!" Rachel felt the tears stream down her face. The EMT's loomed over her saying something she couldn't comprehend but then her head got heavy and her eyelids got droopy. Her vision blurred before everything went black.

Rachel sat up in her bed quickly, breathing heavily and her hair was matted to her forehead from the sweat. She looked around frantically, only calming down when she saw that she was back in her old bedroom at her parent's house. She pushed the covers back, throwing her legs over the bed, pulling herself up and ran her fingers through her tangled hair. She blew out a deep breath and looked around the near empty room.

* * *

"Rachel?" There was a knock at her bedroom door. It was her dad, Russell. "I thought I heard you scream."

"Oh…" Rachel smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, it must have just been a bad dream."

Russell nodded knowingly. "Breakfast is ready downstairs so you can come down whenever."

"Is Dad downstairs?" Rachel asked hopefully.

"He left early for work." Russell told her. "He'll be home at six."

Rachel sighed, pushing past her dad to head to the bathroom. "My flight leaves at two for New York."

"Rachel?" Russell frowned. "You know you're father loves you."

"Really?" She turned on her father. "Because I've been here since Friday and he hasn't seen me once. It's Sunday, Daddy. I leave this afternoon and he has been avoiding me. I know he doesn't want me to pursue a career dance but if he watched me perform, just once, he'd see how much it means to me." Rachel shook her head. "He was all for Whitney doing whatever she wanted but me? He can't even bother himself to try to understand what I want. I love what I do. I don't want to be stuck in this town for the rest of my life. I'm going to get that scholarship and I'm going to Julliard." She slammed the bathroom door shut behind her.

* * *

Santana was just getting back from practicing her vocals at the studio when she found Rachel in the room they shared together.

"You're back?" Santana smiled when she saw Rachel sitting on her bed.

"Yea." Rachel nodded. "I just got back an hour ago."

"I'm supposed to meet Matt at this little bar in town." Santana explained. "Wanna come with?"

"Umm…" Rachel sighed. "Why not? It's not like I've got plans anyway."

When Santana and Rachel walked into the quaint, little bar it was nearly six o'clock. Santana spotted Matt's tall figure easily, leading Rachel over to a small booth in the corner of the bar.

"Rachel, this is Matt, my boyfriend." Santana introduced the two.

"Nice to meet you, Rachel." Matt smiled. "San talks about you all of the time."

Rachel smiled as well, shaking his hand before sitting on the side across from Matt and Santana. Rachel was talking with Matt, who, like Santana, was a singer, when Santana suddenly started waving wildly at someone behind Rachel. Rachel furrowed her brow and turned suddenly to find a familiar pair of hazel eyes staring back at her.

Puck looked at her for a few seconds, tempted to go over to her, before his friends, Mike, Sam, and Finn, led him towards their usual table. It was hard not to notice how dangerously close his table was to Rachel's booth. If she talked a little louder he would be able to hear what she was saying to Santana.

"What's up with you?" Sam asked, gaining Puck's attention.

"Nothing." Puck shrugged, trying to play it off as nothing. He leaned back in his chair, trying to see around some guys head to see Rachel laughing at something the guy at her booth said.

"Jailbait." Mike followed Puck's gaze to the small brunette. "She doesn't look more than sixteen."

"She'll be nineteen next week." Puck blurted out before he could stop himself.

All three of his friends raised their eyebrows at him and Puck sighed, taking a long drink of his beer before leaning forward onto the table.

"She's a student in my class." Puck explained.

"What's her name?" Finn asked.

"Rachel." Puck replied quickly. "Her name is Rachel."

"She's hot." Finn shrugged and Puck shot him a glare. "Sorry, man."

"Hey, Rachel!" Mike called out, making Puck's head whip around to the booth next to him and Rachel to turn quickly at her name. "Over here, Rachel!"

Rachel looked from Mike to Puck and then back at Santana before sliding out of the booth to walk slowly to the table Puck was sitting at with his three friends.

"Noah." Rachel smiled timidly when she reached the table. "I thought I recognized you."

Puck noticed how his friends catch the 'Noah' part but luckily none of them pointed it out. "Just out with some friends."

"Rach is too." Santana said, slinging her arm around Rachel's shoulders. "You know, you are all over 21, you could just buy us some alcohol." She shot them a flirty smile.

When Finn started to pull out his wallet, Puck smacked his friend in the arm. "I wouldn't want you to show up to my class drunk, Miss Lopez."

"You're a lot cooler in class." Santana frowned but it was quickly replaced by a small shriek when a familiar song came on over the jukebox – yes, a jukebox, the owner liked to keep it old school. "Oh, you have to dance with me, Rachel."

"I can't dance." Rachel shook her head.

Santana rolled her eyes. "That doesn't even make sense. You're going to Julliard for dance."

"I do ballet." Rachel corrected. "I don't pop and kick it or whatever you call it."

"Pop and lock it." Santana shook her head. "And besides, this song calls for some graceful moves or some shit so you can teach me some of those amazing ballet moves you did when you totally showed that Quinn bitch up."

Rachel rolled her eyes but waved at Puck before letting Santana drag her away from the table and towards the middle of the bar.

"No one else is dancing." Rachel pointed out.

"So?" Santana shrugged. "It'll be fun."

"Her friends hot too." Sam nodded it appreciation.

"Her friend has a boyfriend." Mike pointed to the guy that was wrapping his arms around Santana's waist. "And I'm pretty sure he could kick your ass."

"So what's the story with this Rachel chick?" Finn changed the subject, directing all of the attention back to Puck.

"Nothing." Puck shrugged again. "She's my student."

"You can't lie to us, man. We've all been friends for years." Sam shook his head.

Puck rolled his eyes. "I just met you seven months ago."

"I can still tell when you're lying." Sam shrugged. "And there is definitely a story between you and that dancer chick."

"She's my student." Puck repeated.

"Only until the end of July." Finn told him.

"There's no story, okay?" Puck leaned back in his chair.

"You are totally eye-fucking her right now." Mike laughed, watching as Puck stared intensely at Rachel trying to show Santana how to do a Pirouette.

"I'm getting another beer." Puck shoved away from the table before picking a stool at the long bar and sitting down in the corner, away from the crowd.

* * *

"Cute friends." Rachel slid onto the barstool beside him.

"Why are you here?" Puck snapped, not looking over at her because he refused to get sucked in my her deep chocolate eyes.

"Santana invited me out." Rachel replied. "She was meeting up with Ma—"

"I mean here. Beside me." Puck slammed his bottle of beer down.

"I…" Her brow furrowed as she searched his face for answers to her unspoken questions. "Noah?"

"I'm not your friend. I'm your teacher." He stood up and her eyes followed him. "Damn it, Rachel. I shouldn't be feeling like this. I shouldn't be thinking these things."

"It's okay. I feel like that too." She reached for him but he yanked away, shaking his head.

"I'm your teacher." He repeated. "I'm your_ teacher_, Rachel."

Rachel bit into her bottom lip, fighting back the tears. She let a ragged breath go before jumping from the stool and rushing out of the bar, not even bothering to tell Santana that she was leaving. Puck looked up to see Santana's confused expression meet his pained one. He shook his head again before storming out of the bar as well, but took the back door so he didn't run into Rachel.

"Rachel." Santana ran out of the bar, trying to catch up with her roommate, who for being so short was surprising quick when she wanted to be. "Rach." Santana called out again but didn't find Rachel.

She was about to call the girl when her phone vibrated in her pocket. Santana pulled it out to find a text from Rachel saying that she was okay and just needed to go back to the campus to clear her head. Santana blew out breath, torn between going to comfort her friend or go back to her boyfriend. The Hispanic compromised and told Matt she'd meet him back here tomorrow night before heading back to the dorm room, finding Rachel wrapped up in blankets in the bed.

"Rachel?" Santana asked quietly, sinking on the edge of the bed. "You okay, sweetie?"

"My sister… she would have been so much better at all of this. At dancing, at getting the guy… I'm not my sister, Santana. I'm not Whitney." Rachel whispered against the darkness of the room.

"Rach." Santana sighed.

"I'm tried so hard to measure up to her but I can't. I can't be her. I don't want to be her. I just want… I want to be Rachel." Rachel sat up quickly and looked at Santana. "Did you know that last year we were supposed to come her? Whitney and I. She was going to come here for dance, for ballet, but I wanted to sing. She told me I wasn't good enough for that and I believed her. So I didn't. I decided that I was going to dance instead. I let her decide that I wasn't good enough. After the accident my Nana, she tried to convince me to come sing here, in New York, but I told her that I wanted to dance like Whitney. I tried to be her, so that maybe it didn't hurt so much that she was gone. I thought that maybe if I came here and got that scholarship that the hole in my chest would go away but it hasn't. It's worse, Santana. The hole got bigger and I just want it to go away."

"It's okay, Rachel." Santana pulled Rachel to her when the smaller girl started to sob. "It's okay." Santana couldn't help the tears that built up in her eyes.

"How can I make it go away?" Rachel asked through her tears.

Santana just held the girl tighter as she whispered calming things because honestly she wasn't sure the answer to that question.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Don't own Glee; just the idea for this fanfic.

A/N: Another short update and I really am sorry. Truly sorry. My last two weeks have been filled with never-ending class lectures, dosage calculations I'm probably never going to remember, car wrecks that landed me in the hospital for two days, sitting with my dad in the ER because of his kidney stones, babysitting my niece and nephew, breaking up with my boyfriend, my crazy friends visiting from Clarksville for five days, and somehow I fit studying into that as well but it's been… entertaining, to say the least. I wrote this chapter in about 45 minutes so it's short and kind of awkward and weird but I promise to have a better, longer chapter up next weekend because next Friday is officially my last day of class for this semester.

On with the story…

* * *

"Noah?" Rachel walked up to Puck after class. "Are you still ignoring me?" She asked as he shoved some papers into his bag before slinging it over his shoulder. "Are you seriously giving me the cold shoulder? I know what you said in the bar last week was true but…"

"What do you want me to do, Rachel?" He asked suddenly, turning to give her a cold look. "If I act on my feelings, I lose my license. I won't be able to teach and I can't give that up. You're a great girl but that's just it. You're my student. I can't be seen with you like that. What happened in the shower room and at the tree… it can't happen again. I'm sorry, Rachel, but I'm your teacher and that's all I'm ever going to be." He turned quickly and hurried towards the door.

Rachel took a deep breath and right as he reached for the door handle she called out to him. "Mr. Puckerman!" She shouted and he froze. He closed his eyes and listened as her ballet flats sounded against the cold floor, letting it be known that she was storming over to him. "Mr. Puckerman." She said quieter this time and he slowly swiveled around to look at her. "You say you're my teacher… then teach me."

"Rachel." He began but she shook her head.

"I need this, Noah. I need this scholarship and I can't do it without you. I understand that we can't be together but… you have to teach me. You have to." She bit the inside of her cheek. "Please, Noah. I need this. Damn it, I deserve this, after everything that has happened, I deserve this."

"Okay." He nodded and his gaze softened when he saw the tears welling in her eyes. "I'll help you, Rachel."

She gnawed on her bottom lip and took a cleansing breath before hoisting her bag higher on her shoulder. "Tomorrow afternoon in the studio, six o'clock." She told him. "Does that work for you?"

"Yea." He said. "That's fine."

"Good." She started to brush past him but he caught her wrist.

"Rachel." He looked down at her. "I'm sorry, so sorry."

"Don't." She pulled away from. "Don't be nice to me. Don't make me like you more. It's too hard." She yanked the door open and rushed out, not sparing him a second glance.

* * *

"You wanna go out tonight?" Santana asked from her bed.

"I think I'm just going to stay in tonight." Rachel replied quietly. "I have a long day tomorrow. The competition is coming up soon and I have to practice as much as I can if I want to win that scholarship."

"You're going to do great." Santana told her. "The only real competition you have is Quinn and she's nothing compared to you."

"You've read the rulebook, right?" Rachel sat up slowly. "I mean, is there a rule against dancing_ and_ singing?" She asked.

Santana raised her eyebrow. "You want to sing at the competition?"

Rachel sighed and moved to sit on the edge of the bed. "I just… I need to prove to my dad and to everyone that I'm not my sister. Singing was the one thing that was mine. It was the one thing she couldn't do. I need to do this, Santana. I still want to dance but I was thinking maybe I could incorporate the ballet moves into a song that I sing." She blew out a breath. "What do you think?"

"I think…" Santana smiled. "I think you're going to need my help and I'd be glad to give it."

* * *

"So you're meeting with him now?" Santana asked.

"Yea." Rachel nodded. "We're going to work on the fouettes and I'm hoping I can at least get up to thirty." She sighed, zipping a jacket up over her leotard.

"Is it going to be weird?" The other girl asked from her bed.

"Definitely." Rachel smiled weakly. "You could come, you know. Make up some lame excuse about wanting to watch my technique. I could really use the support."

"I'd love to come but I promise I'd meet Matt in fifteen minutes." Santana told her apologetically. "Sorry."

"It's okay." Rachel nodded. "I'll see you later."

Rachel trudged across the lawn, towards the main building and slowly made her way to the studio. When she had stalled for as long as she possibly could, she pulled the door open and saw Puck standing on the stage waiting for her. She slipped inside and walked loudly towards him so her presence was known.

"Hey." Puck turned towards her. "You're late."

"Maybe your watch is fast." She brushed past him and dropped her bag on the floor. "Did you bring the music?" She raised an eyebrow at him and he nodded, moving across the stage to hit a button the stereo, the music drifting lazily from the speakers. "I'm going to sing."

"When?" He asked.

"At the competition. I'm going to sing a song; I just thought you should know that." She turned to face the mirrors and tried not to focus on the fact that he was slowly advancing upon her, moving with the music.

"That's cool." He nodded, getting closer to her still. "It's about time you did something that was for you."

"I'm still going to dance." She clarified. "For Whitney… I'm going to dance. But for me… I'm singing. I just haven't found a way to mix the two just yet. I want a good song but I have to find one that will go with my dance routine."

"Why don't you find a dance to go with the song?" He asked.

"There aren't many songs that I can sing and still do my 32 fouettes." She pointed out. "It would be easier to find a song to go with the dance than the other way around."

"Fair enough." He nodded. "Do you have any songs in mind?"

"A few." She fixed her posture and studied her reflection in the mirror.

"Can I hear some of them?"

"No." She replied simply and they left it at that.

They spent the next few hours perfecting her posture and getting her to get past 29 fouettes. Her leg always cramped up before she could get to 30. Finally, when it was nearly ten o'clock and Rachel was utterly exhausted, they slumped down on the edge of the stage to cool down. Puck helped her take her ballet slippers off and as they talked about her plans for Julliard she realized he was massaging her feet. She wasn't even sure he realized he was doing it but it felt good so she didn't pull away. She wasn't sure he would let go if she tried. And no, it wasn't weird. Teachers massaged their students all the time… right?


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.

A/N: Sorry this took so long. I'm thinking this is only going to be one more chapter. I could break it down into two if I made one about the competition and the other about what happens after. What do you guys think? Also, this is rated M and there hasn't been any smut yet so you guys can look out for that soon. Depending on if you want it in two chapters or just one.

Also, you guys have been wanting Puck and Rachel to get together and they did... kind of. Also, there hasn't been enough Quinn in this story so naturally she's going to cause some problems.

* * *

Quinn Fabray always got what she wanted. She was a beautiful girl and knew how to use that to her full advantage. Her parents sent her here, to this program in New York City, every summer. She was talented and everyone knew it. She had always been the best dancer here. Until Rachel Berry. Everything that had happened lately was because of that… _thing_. Quinn Fabray was a lot of things. She was pretty, talented, intelligent, a good Christian girl, but she was _not _jealous of Rachel Berry. There was a perfectly good reason she was hiding in the back of the studio watching as Mr. Puckerman and Rachel practiced on the stage.

Why did _she_ get private lessons from the instructor? It just wasn't fair. Quinn was just as talented as Rachel. Rachel wasn't even that good. Quinn wasn't sure why everyone thought she was such a great dancer. Rachel's posture was flawed and her movements were much too fluid.

Quinn narrowed her eyes when she saw the way Puck's hand lingered on Rachel's body after he showed her how to correct her posture. The blonde furrowed her brow, moving closer. There was something going on and she didn't like it. Her brows raised when Puck turned the stereo off and told Rachel to sit beside him on the edge of the stage. She strained to hear what was being said between the two and after moving slightly closer to the stage she could finally understand what they were saying.

"You're getting better." Puck told Rachel. "Much better."

"You've been a great help." Rachel smiled. "I never would have gotten this far without you."

Quinn gasped silently when Puck's fingers drummed on Rachel's knee. "What the hell?" She asked herself and quickly slapped her hand over her mouth when Puck's eyes searched the chairs she was hiding near.

Rachel must have heard it too because she jumped from the stage, grabbed her bag and quickly left after telling Puck a quick goodbye.

Yes, Quinn Fabray always got what she wanted. What she wanted was to win the competition coming up. And after finally realizing that not only was Rachel Berry getting private lessons from the teacher but the girl was also hot for teacher. Quinn set her jaw, watching as Puck stared after Rachel. Looked like teacher was hot for student as well. Quinn knew what she wanted and this little piece of information would come in handy in getting that. She was going to win that competition and if turning in Rachel for sleeping with Mr. Puckerman – whether it was true or not – guaranteed Quinn winning, she was okay with that.

* * *

"I've been narrowing down my song choices." Rachel walked across the campus lawn with Puck by her side. They were headed towards the tree towards the back on the campus. "Santana has been practicing with me. I have to admit that I'm pretty excited."

"Me too." Puck smiled, his fingers tangling with hers for a second before they stepped apart again.

It was a little dance they did. Testing each other, seeking each other out to see how far they could go before it got uncomfortable. Rachel wasn't sure when their afternoon practices turned into them sitting under that tree and talking until it got too dark for them to see but she'd be lying if she said she didn't enjoy it. They would sit there, talking about whatever popped into their heads. It was like that tree was their own private spot. No one bothered them there. They were completely alone and welcome to do whatever they wanted.

When they were under the tree Puck wasn't her teacher anymore. She would tell him all about her sister and life back with her family. He would tell her about growing up in New York as she listened wide-eyed, her smile beaming. Neither of them fought the attraction they had for each other when they were like this.

Puck always ended up leaning back against the tree trunk with Rachel's head in his lap. She would be telling him some random story that, believe it or not, he actually listened to, and somehow his fingers always found their way to her hair, playing with the ends of it and letting it slide between her fingers. It was rare but occasionally when it was starting to get dark and neither one really even wanted to leave, Rachel would end up in his lap, pressing light kisses against his lips.

They never got into anything serious, just them both stealing kisses in the silence that surrounded them. Puck's hand would always land on her hips, his thumbs sneaking up her shirt to rub against the warm skin underneath but it never got farther than that. He never pushed for anything more even though they were both sure she would let him if he asked.

It was late one night, Rachel was sitting in his lap again, his lips tasting her neck softly, when she pulled back slightly to let him know she wanted to talk again. He didn't seem upset by this but he did tighten his hold on her and bury his face in her neck, just breathing in her scent as he waited for her to start talking.

"My dreams are coming true, every one of them, Noah. But my sister's not here. She's missing it, missing everything." Rachel whispered, afraid she would wake the darkness around them. "My family is going to be there. They've never seen me perform. I'm scared Julliard won't like me. I'm scared I'm going to be stuck in my hometown the rest of my life." She took a deep breath. "But most of all I'm scared that I'm going to lose you. I've never felt this way, Noah, and honestly, I don't know what I'm feeling for you… I just, I know I don't want to give it up."

"You don't have to." He pulled back to look her in the eyes. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here." His hands moved to grip hers. "You feel me. I'm right here, Rachel, and I'm not leaving. You don't have to give up anything."

"What if someone catches us?" She asked. "You'll lose your license and I could get thrown out of the program. I would never get that scholarship." She shook her head, trying to fight away the tears. "I want this, Noah, so much."

"Then go get it." He smiled. "No one's stopping you. No one is going to stand in your way."

"I'm not as good as her." She told him.

"You don't have to be."

"My dad doesn't understand how important this is. He doesn't understand how much I love doing this. Dancing up there, that's for Whitney. I have to do that for her. But singing, getting up there in front of all of those people and singing my song? That's for me, Noah. Just me. For once, I don't have to share something with my sister. For once, people aren't going to be able to compare me to her. For once, I'm doing something that has nothing to do with Whitney or Jesse or any of them. For once, I'm not letting anyone stand in my way and that's because of you. Everyone has always told me I wasn't good enough; they told me that Whitney outshined me. My dad, Jesse, Whitney, they all told me that. And I believed them. I believed that I wasn't good enough. But you? You don't say that. You don't tell me that I'm not good enough." Rachel leaned towards him and kissed his lips softly.

"You are good enough, Rachel." He whispered his reply. "You are great. I know it's hard without Whitney here but that's the thing. She's not here. She's not here to tell you that you aren't good. She's not here to make you feel bad. It's okay to be happy, Rachel. No one is going to hate you for being happy. No one is going to think you're a bad person just because you're doing something for yourself."

Rachel kissed him again then. She knew he was right but it still didn't help the sharp pain in her chest every time she even thought about Whitney. It didn't help bring Whitney back.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. Or 'The Story' by Brandi Carlile. It's a great song so if you haven't heard it, you should listen to it. Brandi sings it well but I prefer the version by Sara Ramirez. Both great, talented women.

A/N: One more chapter after this. Are you excited?

* * *

"Do you understand how serious this allegation is, Noah?" His mom, Rebecca, asked. "This has serious consequences." She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the desk and looked him directly in the eyes. "Is something going on between you and Rachel Berry?"

Puck met her gaze and his jaw ticked. "No." He lied.

"My, God, Noah." Rebecca shook her head. "How can you lie straight to my face like that?"

"Let this go, Ma, please." He pleaded. "Do you know what this could do to Rachel? All kinds of rumors could get started." He shook her head. "Leave Rachel alone. She had nothing to do with this."

"I'm a little more worried about you." She leaned back in her chair. "Damn it, Noah, didn't you learn your lesson last time?"

Puck shoved his chair back and stood up. "We are not bringing that up."

"Apparently we have to." Rebecca sighed. "I just don't know about you sometimes, Noah. I swear…" She paused and looked over Puck's shoulder to see the girl standing in the doorway.

"Y-you wanted to see me." Rachel swallowed thickly, her eyes darting between Puck and Rebecca.

"Yes, please come in." Rebecca motioned her in but Rachel didn't move.

"I told you to leave her out of this." Puck growled at his mother.

"Sit down, now." Rebecca spat back. "Both of you."

Rachel was quick to oblige, sitting in the closest chair but Puck paced around for a few seconds before finally slumping into a chair and letting his face fall into his hands.

"Do you know why I called you in here today, Rachel?" Rebecca asked calmly.

"Mom." Puck groaned.

"I-I think I have an idea." Rachel glanced form Puck back to Rebecca.

"You look nervous." Rebecca raised her eyebrows.

"That because I am, Ma'am." Rachel admitted and ducked her head.

"I've had my eye on you for a while, Rachel. Did you know that?" Rebecca didn't wait for an answer before going on. "I was a little disappointed when you reported that you wouldn't be attending last summer. What made you change your mind?"

Rachel opened her mouth and then snapped it shut. "Is this really why you called me in here? To talk about my past?"

"No." Rebecca shook her head. "I called you in here to tell you that I was immediately withdrawing you from this program and that you were to pack your bags and leave immediately."

Rachel pursed her lips and fell the tears well in her eyes. "I—"

Rebecca stuck her hand up, effectively silencing her. "But then my son spent the entire morning telling me how amazing you were. He sat here and talked for hours about your technique and how pure your voice was. He told me all of this with the brightest smile on his face." She cleared her throat. "I am your administrator and that means I should boot you from this program faster than you can say Barbra Streisand."

Rachel nodded. "I understand."

"But as Noah's mother…" She looked from her son back to Rachel, who both looked confused. "I have to say that I simply can't do that. I can't take away what could possibly be the only chance for you to get the scholarship that you want."

"Does that mean…?" Rachel looked hopeful.

"Noah must immediately resign and I am to never see you two together for the rest of Rachel's attendance to this program." Rebecca said firmly. "I can't kick Rachel out on hear-say from another student but since this seems to be a problem for Noah, I can make you resign or I can fire you."

"Thank you." Puck blew out a breath.

"I hope to see your performance next week, Rachel." Rebecca turned back to her computer, letting Puck and Rachel know this conversation was over.

/

"He got fired?" Santana gasped. "Shit, Rachel, did you get thrown out of the program? Can you still compete next week?"

"I can still compete but I can't be seen with Noah until after this program has ended." Rachel sighed. "Which means that he can't help me practice anymore and I still haven't gotten the 32 fouettes down. The competition is in five days, Santana. I can't lose. Not to Quinn."

"What's Quinn got to do with this?" Santana asked.

"I'm pretty sure that she's the one that told Rebecca about Noah and I." Rachel shook her head.

"That bitch." Santana gasped.

"Which is why I can't let her win. I won't let her beat me."

"Quinn is pretty ruthless. She would trip you down a set of stairs if it meant you didn't get to perform against her. It may just be a rumor but I heard that she slipped something to this guy last year just because she thought he was a better dancer than her."

"Will you help me?" Rachel pleaded. "Noah can't anymore and I don't think I can do this on my own."

Santana nodded. "We should get busy then."

/

Santana was first to go at the competition. She was confident and sexy, wearing this tight black dress that showed off her natural curves. She was wearing this small hat and it sat crookedly on the top of her head with a small black mesh veil covering her eyes. Rachel wished her luck and hung back behind the curtains to listen to Santana sing, _Valerie_, which apparently was a favorite song of Santana's.

Of course, the Hispanic girl was amazing and everyone clapped. She squealed once she was behind the curtain and hugged Rachel hard. Quinn was next, dressed in a simple blue leotard and chose to dance along to some song that was a little too slow in Rachel's taste. But the people liked it and they even gave her a standing ovation. It made Rachel's stomach jump into her throat.

"I can't do this." Rachel shook her head. "My family isn't here, Noah's not here. Santana, I can't go out there. What if I fall? What if I forget the words or I can't reach the 32?" She shook her head. "What if the lady from Julliard doesn't like me?"

Santana offered her a small smile and gave her a simple reply. "What if she does?"

/

The music started softly and then the spotlight flipped on, shining only on Rachel. She was standing in the center of the stage, her hair framing her face and she was wearing the leotard Emma had bought her. Santana has assured her that she looked amazing but that didn't keep Rachel was freaking out. She was nervous, her stomach was in knots, and she couldn't find Noah anywhere. He hadn't been backstage to wish her luck before the performance and as she searched the crowd, she stopped when she saw her parents and brother. They weren't supposed to be here but there they were, helping Rachel swallow some of her fear. She glanced over at Santana, who was standing by the edge of the curtain giving her a thumbs up, before looking back at the crowd to start singing.

_All of these lines across my face  
Tell you the story of who I am  
So many stories of where I've been  
And how I got to where I am_

But these stories don't mean anything  
When you've got no one to tell them to  
It's true, I was made for you

Her eyes found a pair of familiar hazel ones and her breath went. There was Noah, standing by the exit, watching her closely. Her stomach did this weird flip thing and she was sure she was about two seconds away from throwing up her breakfast. She took a large step forward, the spotlight following her, and locked eyes with Noah. She could do this, she was sure of it.

_I climbed across the mountaintops  
Swam all across the ocean blue  
I crossed all the lines and I broke all the rules  
And baby I broke them all for you_

Oh, because even when I was flat broke  
You made me feel like a million bucks  
You do, and I was made for you

She took a small step backwards, sucked in a breath, and prayed she didn't fall flat on her face before starting the fouettes. Each turn she made brought her one step closer to winning that scholarship. She screwed her eyes shut, focusing only on the way the music was beating softly and counting her head how many fouettes she had completed. Everyone was silent, watching her closely as she made it up to 30. She didn't have a mirror to tell her but she was sure she had traveled. 31. She only had a few seconds before the song started back up. 32. Rachel felt like she was going to throw up. She stopped gracefully and the crowd started to clap.

She met Noah's eyes again and he nodded at her, urging her to go on. She did.  
_  
You see the smile that's on my mouth  
It's hiding the words that don't come out  
And all of our friends who think that I'm blessed  
They don't know I'm in this mess_

_No they don't know who I really am_  
_And they don't know what I've been through_  
_Like you do, and I was made for you_

Rachel couldn't stop the smile that broke out over her face and she made her way towards the edge of the stage to finish the song. She found Puck smiling right back at her and she was sure he was even laughing a little bit. 

_All of these lines across my face_  
_Tell you the story of who I am_  
_So many stories of where I've been_  
_And how I got to where I am_

_But these stories don't mean anything_

_If you've got no one to tell them to  
It's true, I was made for you_

_Oh yeah, and it's true t__hat I was made for you_

The audience clapped loudly and Rachel laughed before giving a gracious bow and rushing off of the stage. Santana pulled her into a tight and the girls giggled together. There were only a few other people left and they went quickly. Before Rachel knew it, the awards were being called.

Santana held her hand tightly as the scholarship was being given out. It had come down to Rachel and Quinn.

"…Quinn Fabray." The announcer said loudly and Quinn shrieked from beside Rachel.

Rachel felt her stomach drop and she swallowed hard, her eyes tearing up instantly. She could vaguely hear her parents assuring her that it would be okay and that she was great. She nodded and smiled along because that was what she was supposed to do.

"You were great, Rachel." Roger told her. "I never knew you were so good."

Rachel searched the crowd again but Puck had disappeared. He wasn't standing by the exit anymore and she looked around her. He wasn't there. He was gone. She hadn't gotten the scholarship or the guy.


	6. Chapter 6

I don't own Glee.

A/N: This is the last chapter. I'm so sorry it took so long but the end of this just did not want to get written. I rewrote and edited this chapter at least four times but I'm finally mostly satisfied with it. I'm not too fond of the end but I guess I'll just wait to see what you guys think.

/

Puck yanked on his tie and tossed it onto his bed in his small apartment. He knew he shouldn't have gone to that damn performance. It was a bad idea, especially since he was now one hundred percent sure he was head over ass in love with one of his students. Well, now that he had quit she wasn't technically one of his students but it didn't help the guilty feeling that hung over him every time he was with Rachel.

He cared about Rachel, he did, but she was so much younger than him. She was naïve and still had so much to learn. A big part of him felt like he was taking advantage of her but an even bigger part of him didn't care. When he was with Rachel he forgot about everything but her. He forgot that he lived in a crappy studio apartment; he forgot that ever since he turned twenty-three his Saturday nights meant knocking back cheap beer with some of the same friends he'd had since high school instead of hot hookups like he used to do in college. Growing up sucked and Rachel still had a lot of it to do.

He drifted over to the fridge, pulling out a milk carton and drinking straight from it before placing it back on the top shelf. He rolled his head to the side, cracking his neck and realized how stiff he was. It must be from all of the stress over the last few weeks. He sucked in a breath when he heard someone knocking on his front door.

He frowned and walked over to find Rachel waiting patiently on the other side of the door.

"You ran." She stated simply when he fixed her with a level stare.

He lifted one shoulder in a half-hearted shrug and offered her a small smile. "You should have won. That scholarship was yours. Those judges were shitty."

She smiled brightly and looked down, her fingers fumbling with a business card in her hand. "A lady from Julliard stopped me before I could leave the auditorium." She told him quietly. "She said that they have been watching Quinn for a while so that was why she got the scholarship. She also said that they rarely give out more than one full-ride scholarship in the same program but…" Rachel met Noah's eyes. "She said she was very impressed with my voice and my dancing. She gave me her card." She held it up like that would tell Puck the rest of the story. Rachel bit into her bottom lip and cursed herself when she felt the tears burning at her eyes. "If I agree to go to Julliard for singing…" She paused and took a shaky breath. Puck nodded to urge her to go on. "Then I get a scholarship."

"For singing?" Puck asked. "I mean, is that what you want?"

"It is." She nodded. "It's not a full scholarship but it will cover most of my tuition and everything. I can get a job on campus." She smiled when she felt his thumb wipe a tear from her cheek. "My dad has been so against my dancing and singing but after he saw me tonight, he offered to help out as much as he can with the cost."

"That's great." He whispered and wondered why she was still crying.

"I know." Rachel nodded. "Whitney would be so excited."

"Do you want to come in?" Puck asked but Rachel just sucked in another breath.

Rachel shoved the business card into her dress pocket and met Puck's gaze again. "I've never had anyone look at me the way you do. I know everyone thinks that it's wrong for us to want to be together but I think it's wrong when we're apart." She shrugged. "I don't care what anyone else thinks anymore. You make me feel pretty and good." She smiled softly and took a small step towards him. "Your voice sounds like honey and when you don't touch me, I can't breathe. I can't breathe when you do touch me."

"Rachel." He whispered when she moved forward again so that her fingers were tangled with his.

"I need this, Noah." She told him. "I need you to want this because I want this so much."

He looked down at her and she swallowed thickly at what she found in his eyes. Instead of their usual hazel color they were dark, nearly brown. His lips found hers eagerly and he kissed her hard, savoring the taste of her lips. His hand tangled in her hair and pulled her closer to him while her hands gripped the sides of his dress shirt to steady herself.

His lungs were burning before he finally pulled and he met her eyes once again. "I want this, too." He replied simply before his lips found her neck and her fingers made quick work of unbuttoning his shirt.

He pulled her inside of his apartment and turned them so that he could push the door closed and flip the deadbolt in the same quick motion. She moaned softly when his sucked on this one spot near her shoulder and a shiver ran down his spine.

Puck pulled away reluctantly and smiled at her while he led her further into his small apartment. He pulled her onto the bed and rolled her under him. His weight was deliciously heavy on top of her and she arched up into him to feel every hard muscle of him. He yanked the dress she was wearing over her head and then kissed her hard on the lips, licked his way down her throat, and she moaned, making her bare breasts rub against his shirt. _God, he felt good._ He dipped his head, taking a nipple into his mouth, and it drove her crazy, pushing her toward a hot darkness.

Everything was happening so quickly and it took a few seconds for her brain to finally catch up with her. His hands were everywhere and she felt like she couldn't keep up. She'd never been with anyone like Noah before. Actually, she'd only ever been with Jesse so jumping from Jesse to Puck was a big adjustment. Jesse had been clumsy and quick, never quite bringing her to orgasm before he spent. Puck was completely different. He was older and the way he was touching her let her know he had plenty of experience in this area. Puck was the dangerous type of man, the guy she knew she shouldn't get involved with but did for the exact reason, the type of man that could say something completely offensive, turning her on and making her want to kill him all at once, the type of man who could make a woman crazy just by his gaze.

Puck slid his hand into her panties and she writhed when his fingers brushed her folds. She should definitely be contributing to this, shouldn't she? She had come over to his apartment and he was doing all of the work. She had barely touched him since he invited her inside.

She was too busy to thinking to even notice what he was doing until he licked her stomach and went lower. Once she realized what she was doing – and after making sure this was definitely what she wanted (it was) – she shoved his head away to kick her panties off. He stripped off his pants and t-shirt, and then they were naked, their breaths ragged as they both studied one another.

Even when she had sex with Jesse, she had always insisted she leave her shirt on because of her scar. But now, here was Puck, staring at her and she felt his eyes rake down her chest to stop at her stomach. She swallowed hard, the pink scar burning across her stomach. She quickly lifted her hands to cover the mark and he brow creased before he bent to kiss the tip of her nose.

"Don't do that." He whispered harshly and grabbed her wrists to pull them above her head, trapping both of them there with his hand while he kissed her lips soundly. "Don't." He repeated and trailed his kisses lower, dipping down her neck and across her chest.

Her breath sped up when his breath danced across her navel and she screwed her eyes shut as he dropped a light kiss to her belly button, right above her scar.

"Noah." She warned and tried to push him away. "It's so ugly."

He grunted in disagreement and then his tongue was tracing the outline of the mark, making her stomach twist in so many different directions that Rachel had to moan. "It's beautiful." He corrected. "You're beautiful, Rachel."

"Noah." She said again, almost desperately.

He leaned across her, reaching into the nightstand for a condom, and then spread her legs wider with his hips. His hand slipped between her thighs, making her brain shut down for a good five minutes while her hips moved in rhythm with his fingers. She clung to his shoulders and she could vaguely hear him rolling the condom on before he was pressing into her slowly.

She arched under him, taking him all in and she couldn't stifle the moan that escaped because it felt so good to be filled like that. He thrust into her harder and grunted against her shoulder. She finally decided to put forth some effort and her lips moved across his shoulder before stopping to suck on his neck.

Puck pushed himself deeper inside of her and she let out a throaty moan when his mouth descended to her breasts. Jesse had never done anything like this. There was never foreplay between the two of them, always straight to the act and then it was over before it really even began. Puck rocked against her and she found his rhythm, rotating her hips and smirking when he groaned around her nipple.

He was saying something in her ear, her name maybe, she couldn't tell because she was trying so hard not to crumble beneath him. She didn't want this to end just yet, he felt so good inside of her and she never wanted to stop doing this; she never wanted him to leave her.

His hand was rough on her face and he made her look at him, his eyes dark and hot. "Let go, Rachel." He whispered harshly through clenched teeth. "Come for me."

She did, coming around him fast, sharp, and hard. She knew he did too and then he was collapsing on top of her, but still supporting his weight on his elbows so he didn't crush her. Her fingers were still digging into his shoulders and her breathing was uneven and sharp. He pushed the hair back from her face and smiled softly down at her. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and tasted that salty sweat that had formed there. He slid over, off of her body, onto his back beside her.

"Noah." She giggled.

"I know." He agreed, letting his hand slide across her stomach to rest on top of her scar.

She was too tired to move or say anything else so instead she curled into him and rested her head on his chest, sprinkling light kisses wherever she could reach. Her fingers tangled with his and she sighed, content.

"Since we're doing everything ass backwards anyway," He murmured. "Do you want to be my girlfriend?"

She giggled and raised her head to give him a soft kiss on the lips while his fingers gently tugged on the ends of her hair. "Okay... but only because you asked so nicely."

The End

Thanks to everyone that has reviewed and stuck with me for this.


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